Orisis Clutch
"The Asor command Gargoyles. But the Orisis command money, and money commands the world." -''Omorose vai Orisis One of the last clutches to be made, the Orisis clutch made their home in the White Sand region of Augustgrad. Rather than build themselves upwards, they dug themselves down into the sands, establishing a large underground city of stone. Initially starting out wary of each other, the smaller families built themselves into clans, and ended up establishing their city on strained, but solid, terms. The intervention of the other established clutches, particularly the Asor, helped them establish their culture and a leader to be crowned, and their friendship has been sustained through the years. Physically, they have very little that sets them apart from the other clutches. What set them in good stead is organized thinking, and keen eyes combined with the natural talents with earth magic making them impressive at finding metal deposits and gemstones. They are rather well in tune with their creators and the dead, leading them to be spiritual leaders as well. They tend to have a smaller, more diminuitive structure, relatively speaking. Hair colors trend toward the darker colors, resulting from only limited natural light. Especially on the more wealthy, perfumes and makeups cover up a great many of the flaws they accumulate over their lives, and their skin is almost always soft and smooth, regardless of what trials it has been through. Their people live primarily in castes, though these are by no means hard and fast. The worker caste is easily the most fit looking, often found lugging sand or digging up precious stones or ores, leading them to be a bit more topheavy and muscular in the process. It is difficult to distinguish the workers from the guards. The merchants are of moderate builds, but keep themselves looking as bright and perky as possible, using a bit brighter makeup, dyes, and jewelry in order to catch the eye. The business leaders, including the broodqueen, often end up rotund, which is surprisingly fitting for them. They rarely use as much makeup, but they still smell of perfumes or incense. The rest fall sort of in the middle of these trends. Information '''Clutch Name Meaning: '''Of Golden Sand '''Regalia Colors:' Purple, Black, and White Broodqueen: '''Omorose vai Orisis '''Focus: Economics, mining, raw good processing, faith Symbol''': '''A crescent moon superimposed over the center of a sun. Opulence and wealth are perhaps the chief defining features of the Orisis clutch. Their underground homes, constructed from underground, are massive, even for the poorest of folk. They are often lavishly decorated with gold and silver, and painted in brighter hues. Fine cuisine, incenses, perfumes, and jewelry are all common sights among the populace. Even though everyone lives in comfort, there are more than enough points of tension. From a young age, it is imprinted on the Orisis that the measure of a person is how much he or she does to advance themselves and their loved ones, and that is estimated by money. Charity is not a very heard of concept, even with family; one earns his or her own keep. Minor charity for family for things like food and water is accepted, but beyond that, very little is given freely. It paints a picture of staunch cynicism. Culture While the Dakahr were the first to openly embrace other cultures, the Orisis quickly followed suit. Their business trade immediately opened up to other clutches as they were met and, afterwards, other races around the desert. It offered new influxes of wealth and resources, especially some of the pastries of which the humans were fond. Over the years, they attempted to adapt, but isolationism made things problematic. While their guards are effective at their jobs, their military is less than effective, prefering to hire their help. In fact, most of their disputes are sorted out through finances and business savy than with harsh words and fighting. Even fleeing is preferrable to outright war. They are impressive at bluffing, too, a skill they have easily adapted from the Dakahr, one of their closest friends and allies. Because of this and their cynical nature, they are often treated warily by the various other clutches. Their market served as a major draw for various outsiders. The bulk of it was done outside in the desert sands. Inside of the caverns there are halls for various bits of entertainment and personal care, like spa treatments. After their retreat, though, they became more isolationist and paranoid about outsiders. Many of their number pride themselves in their work, going for a position that they are not only happy with, but also skilled in. There will be certain aspects of their work which shows itself in their everyday lives as well. A miner, for example, will often not wash his or her hands until a mealtime, even after digging something like coal or sulfur. Their wealth is also kept on prominent display around their homes, and in their clothing. The more jewelry, the better off the person is. On the note of their extravagance, the Orisis believe in complete freedom of the market. So long as it is profitable, it is sold. So long as it is not dangerous to the people, the only regulation is a warning to the health of the individual. Even drugs that would be illegal in other countries are only marginally regulated rather than completely restricted. Each night prior to the exodus and at least once a month after, a large fete is thrown for the clutch in order to give back the wealth to the community. The quality is dictated based on how the clutch has been performing as a whole. In spite of their cynicism, the Orisis are deeply reverent towards their ancestors. Like all of their special occasions, their memorial ceremonies end with a large party, but the rest of the day is a little unique. Work is kept to a minimum, and fasting is a must. Items of prosperity such as food and gold are left out all day, channeled with ceremonial blends of joss. The incense is placed in a clay or stone bowl, inscribed with the names of the family's ancestors, as far back as the Grey Elves. The food and trinkets are offerings for the ancestors, and not to be touched until the next day. History The Orisis gargoyles were among the latest entrants to the Augustgrad desert. They settled themselves in the White Sand, after clearing out the former occupants. A base currency was made as they dug out their homes, assuming there was no resource worth bartering. Little did they realize that they had established one of the first proper coinage systems out there. While the material and value changed, as they found the first traces of gems and ores in their new underground home, they did not abandon the coinage in favor of a simple barter system. Realizing that they couldn't last on their own, they immediately began sending out scouts and envoys to try and find some form of resources. They made contact with several clutches, in an attempt to establish trade. They managed to at the very least secure the bare essentials, as well as a few maps of the various surroundings. They seemed to especially get along with the Galar and the Dakahr, which forced them to withdraw quite badly when the other two began to fight. Once the fighting was over, the Orisis were quick to re-establish what trade they were able, availing themselves of the resources to which the Dakahr and Galar could supply. There was some initial unease about both of them, but the potential was too readily available, and trade would continue throughout the years. Leadership of the clutch would change hands a few times in the time between the Clutch Wars and the Desert War, settling on Omorose vai Orisis little more than two decades prior to Kalarisis vai Asoraius. The Orisis left another mark on history shortly after the Great Desert War kicked off in earnest. Omorose's envoys went out, dealing with whomever they could find in an attempt to get a more united effort against the Rakshasa and Gurahk threat. While it was not known at the time, and results were marginal, this served to form the framework of the Augustgrad government, an organization that thrives today. The war wasn't exactly going smoothly though. There were casualties going on for both sides. Kalarisis was missing and presumed dead. And worse, the Rakshasa seemed to be threatening to overrun the clutches, if Makisa was to be believed. While most of the other clutches elected to stand and fight regardless, the Orisis fled with the Dakahr towards the country of Daramir. The troubles were not yet over, either. In her haste to get to safety, the Orisis were left fairly open, leading to some of her clutch getting captured or killed en route. Still more would die crossing the sea to Daramir, mostly the elderly and the children. Omorose's rigorous pace would not be given any leeway though. While over a third of the clutch died, the rest made it to Daramir alive, the original home of the Grey Elves. This time it was the turn of the Orisis to go into seclusion. For a while, they subsisted on their own merit, without even contacting Dakahr. If not for the re-emerged Kalarisis and Nightwatch, they might still be in seclusion. Instead they are beginning to establish new trade with Augustgrad, Miranda, and Daramir at large.